The conventional image forming device based on dry electrophotography, which uses toner particles, requires that the size of the toner particles used should be as small as possible to generate high-quality images. However, the use of fine toner particles has a practical disadvantage: particles with diameters of 5 to 6 .mu.m or less may cause diseases such as pneumoconiosis when inhaled by operators while suspending in air, as they are not easily disintegrated once sucked into the lung. A possible solution to this problem is to use a developer in which toner is dispersed in organic solvent to prevent the particles from scattering in air. However, this method also may be problematic as the organic solvent used may evaporate while the toner is fixed on an image recording medium.
Although many printers for commercial applications use organic solvents, it may be replaced with water to reduce the effect on the environment. For these printers, however, an image needs to be impressed on a plate before being printed, hampering their applications in on-demand printing, unlike electrophotographic printing.
On the other hand, in the semiconductor industry, to form a pattern of metal layer, the remaining area needs to be masked, which is why the additional masking process and a mask removal process are necessary before and after metallic pattern forming, respectively. These processes are quite cumbersome and often involve the use of a strongly acidic mask remover, posing problems regarding the safety of operators and effects on the environment.
From the above viewpoint, an image forming device which would have little effect on operators and environment while enabling on-demand printing has been awaited in the fields of electrophotographic image forming and printing.
Also, in the semiconductor industry, a simpler, safer and environmentally less offensive metal pattern forming process have been called for.